A report by the Rotterdam Area Atlas (Gebiedsatlas) has found that Rotterdam is the most affordable big city in the Netherlands.
The report found that, while house prices have increased since the last report was published in 2018, there is a greater balance between the availability of homes for low, middle, and high incomes, and more homes for young families and first-time home buyers. Rotterdam therefore remains the most affordable residential city in comparison to other large Dutch cities.
According to the land registry, the average price of a house in Rotterdam at the end of 2019 was 286.000 euros, in comparison to the national average of 313.000 euros. The average prices in Amsterdam, Utrecht, and The Hague are all above the national average.
In an attempt to ensure that there are a wider variety of homes available to buyers in Rotterdam, the municipality has adopted a housing vision which aims to provide a better balance between expensive and more affordable homes.
The vision states that, by 2030, 57 percent of the total housing stock must be social housing. The number of homes in the so-called middle sector must also increase, so priority will be given to construction projects that aim to do this.
Steps taken to achieve this in the past two years have resulted in the construction of 7.252 new homes. The city hopes to build at least another 50.000 homes by 2040. According to Bas Kurvers, Rotterdam’s Alderman for Building and Living, “Rotterdam is working hard to build a house for every Rotterdammer. We are on the right track, but the pace of construction must increase.”